Attack the Block (2011)

A teen gang in South London defend their block from an alien invasion.

Director:

Joe Cornish

Writer:

Joe Cornish

Stars:

John Boyega, Jodie Whittaker, Alex Esmail

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 20 wins & 37 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jodie Whittaker	...	Sam
John Boyega	...	Moses
Alex Esmail	...	Pest
Leeon Jones	...	Jerome
Franz Drameh	...	Dennis
Simon Howard	...	Biggz
Maggie McCarthy	...	Margaret
Danielle Vitalis	...	Tia
Paige Meade	...	Dimples
Gina Antwi	...	Dionne
Natasha Jonas	...	Gloria
Sammy Williams	...	Probs
Michael Ajao	...	Mayhem
Luke Treadaway	...	Brewis
Flaminia Cinque	...	Italian Woman

Storyline

Attack the Block follows an unlucky young woman and a gang of tough inner city kids who make an unlikely alliance to try to defend their turf against an invasion of savage alien creatures, turning a South London apartment complex into an intergalactic war-zone.

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Plot Keywords:

eaten alive | green blood | gang | alien | apartment | 

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Taglines:

Inner City vs. Outer Space

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for creature violence, drug content and pervasive language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

UK France

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 May 2011 (UK)

Also Known As:

Napad na kvart

Filming Locations:

Three Mills Studios, Three Mill Lane, Bow, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,133,859 (United Kingdom), 15 May 2011, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$137,580, 31 July 2011, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,024,175, 25 September 2011

Company Credits

Production Co:

StudioCanal,Film4,UK Film Council

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS (DTS Digital Surround) SDDS (uncredited) Dolby Surround 7.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Joe Cornish was inspired by the early, low-budget films of his favorite directors, like Steven Spielberg's Duel (1971) and James Cameron's The Terminator (1984). Directors who were "trying to make big movies even when they couldn't."

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Goofs

Pest appears to have a magical backpack. As the gang pulls out and uses all of his fireworks, more magically appear a minute afterwards.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sam: [on phone] Hi mum!

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Connections

References Juyuso seubgyuksageun (1999)

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Soundtracks

By Your Side (Instrumental)
Written and Performed by Mikis Michaelides

User Reviews

Just Excellent

Made with less than one tenth of SUPER 8 budget, this movie gets twice more entertainment while delivering social messages instead of shallow fake nostalgia. A gang of teenagers (mostly black but from other ethnic groups too) rob a woman/nurse on her way home. A sudden explosion and something falling from the sky, allow the woman to escape. When the gang's leader checks what happened is attacked by an extraterrestrial creature. The group kills the thing and take the body with them hoping to make a few squids out of the strange creature. From there, things get really ugly; when more bigger beasts fall from the sky, police and some gangsters show up; everybody pursuing the gang. The action does not stop. No unnecessary romances, or tear breaking scenes; just a few commentaries about life in those marginal neighborhoods. The acting of the teenage members is excellent. Every one of them has a brief time to deploy their character but all of them have enough charisma to succeed. In brief, do not expect Hollywood overproduced and unrealistic special effects here only real fun.